China: Factory fire leaves 19 dead

A factory fire has killed 19 people in east China, local authorities said Monday, in the latest deadly incident to hit the country´s industrial sector.

The fire broke out on Sunday at a factory in Ninghai county, eastern Zhejiang province.

The incident, which is under investigation, occurred at a facility owned by the Ruiqi Daily Necessities Company.

Among eight people rescued from the fire, three were injured and sent to hospital for medical treatment, said authorities.

It made for a deadly weekend in China ahead of the communist-led country´s 70th-anniversary celebrations on Tuesday.

Earlier, a packed bus collided with a truck in eastern Jiangsu province, killing 36 people.

Industrial accidents are common in China, where safety regulations are often poorly enforced.

In March, a blast at a chemical plant in eastern Jiangsu province killed 78 people and injured hundreds.

Four months later in July, a huge explosion left 15 dead at a gas plant in central China.

Last November, a truck carrying combustible chemicals exploded at the entrance of a chemical factory in Zhangjiakou, a northern Chinese city that will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, killing 23 people and injuring 22 others.